Ssssss-gat? That's a Ticket

My mom visited with us over the weekend, and before leaving she decided to give Carter 5 $1 bills. She was hoping that he could spend his money at the gift shop later in the day when Dan took him to the Planetarium in Chapel Hill. Until then, I could honestly tell you Carter couldn't care less about money.

He was so cute. He walked around the house showing everyone his "tickets". He would give me a dollar and tell me, "Here's your ticket Mommy". He spent his tickets on a magnifying glass, a flashlight and a small dinosaur. Pretty good for $5, huh?

Carter will be turning 3 on the 9th of January, and he continues to amaze me with his antics. He acts like such a little man with the things he says. He loves to come up to us slowly, stroke our face while looking into our eyes, and saying "I love you" and then he places the most gentle kiss on our face. It's so sweet.

Camden is growing cuter and cuter by the day, if that's even possible! (I'm partial) He has just gotten his seventh tooth (ouch!) and he is starting to talk quite a bit and he points to everything. He practices using sign language to communicate with us a bit, which helps! He takes in the world around him by asking "Ssssss-gat", "Dat" and "Gat" which all mean "what's that?" while pointing to various objects. His other words include "Bee-bee" (baby), cup, and of course Mommy and Daddy. In addition to talking, unfortunately, Camden has also started to throw hints of temper tantrums. I am not looking forward to this faze in his life.

We love our boys!!!

9-1-1

You know that number that we all had to practice dialing when we turned three years old? The one that was marked with nail polish on all of our phone pads? Well, I had to dial that number earlier today.

I left the boys (for 2 SECONDS) playing on our living room futon to run into the kitchen real quick. I had just gotten some eggs out of the fridge when I heard a very loud thud come from the other room. I didn't panic at first, because I just assumed that Carter was jumping off of the furniture again, but when I asked Carter what happened I heard Camden making a weird noise.

I ran into the other room to find Camden lying face down on the carpet making a horrible moaning sound. Normally when he gets hurt, he runs to me screaming and crying, but he just laid there moaning. I scooped him up and his neck was limp and his head was flopping around. Afraid his neck was broken, I immediately held him close to my chest and waited a few seconds. When I tried sitting him up again, his head fell forward. Terrified that his neck was broken for sure, I picked up the phone and dialed 911.

I was so petrified that my whole body was shaking uncontrollably, and I could barely talk to the dispatcher because the phone was vibrating against my ear so badly. All I could think about was my poor baby being paralyzed for the rest of his life because his Mommy left him on the couch for 2 seconds. I would never have been able to forgive myself. I was so terrified that all of our lives had been changed forever. I held Camden tightly against my body to immobilize his neck and after about 5 minutes or so the EMS workers arrived. By the time they were in the house to examine him, he had regained control of his neck.

It appears that he went into shock after the trauma from the fall, and was either about to pass out, or temporarily lost control of his muscles. We just don't know. Dan x-rayed his neck and it looked fine.

Writing about this is making me feel sick all over again. It was the absolute SCARIEST moment of my life. With a visit to the ER the other week, and now this, I can't help but feel that our "sick scares" are over for now. They better be!

We are so, so very grateful for Camden's quick recovery, and are so thankful to the LORD for keeping him safe.

This is the Holly Springs EMS truck that arrived. Stretcher and all...

Looking back, I am slightly emarrassed for "wasting" their time, but I am so glad that it was a waste. AND, as a Mommy, I was not going to take any chances.

Christmas

The "BEST PRESENT EVER" was waiting under the tree for Carter on Christmas morning. He has been asking for the Polar Express all year long. We can't wait to have this train around the tree for years to come. It is a serious Lionel train, and the engine itself ways around 10 pounds!
He LOVES it!!!

Camden's favorite present of the morning was a hairbrush that he actually gave to me! He always steals the brushes in the house and hides them, so Dan got me a new set. All the toys, and all he wanted was the hairbrush. Note to self: save money next year.

Dan's parents enjoyed the Christmas morning with us at our house.

After lunch, we headed to my sister Laura's house for some family time with my family.

Carter really enjoyed playing with his cousins this year.

On The Mend

After being sick with a high fever (104.5) off and on for a whole week, we finally took Carter back to the doctor on Saturday. After an ER visit and two trips to the doctor, we were afraid that he had developed pneumonia. The doctor we saw on Saturday was concerned about pneumonia as well and was about to send Carter to get a chest X-ray. Then he decided to look into Carter's ears and he discovered a severe ear infection. So, the ear infection was causing him to feel so miserable and to run the fever. The doctor told me that it was the worst ear infection he has seen in a long time and he prescribed an antibiotic to treat his ear and any pneumonia.

The conclusion is that whatever this "thing" is that made us all so sick caused Carter to have an asthma attack and a bad ear infection. Carter is still coughing, but is a totally different child now that he has had a few doses of antibiotics. Camden is coughing and awfully fussy, but seems to be getting better and Dan wasn't effected nearly as bad as the rest of us and is feeling better already.

I am so glad that it looks like we are all going to be able to enjoy a healthy Christmas. I hear Santa has a few goodies up his sleeve!

Some Holiday Cheer

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Family Portraits

We had our family portraits done last weekend and had the boys 3 year and 1 year photos taken as well. A patient of Dan's has a husband who is a photographer and he has a studio in his home. We think he did a great job!

Good Grief

The past few mornings I keep waking up, not only hoping, but expecting to feel much better than the day before. No such luck. It seems like we are all getting worse. We had to take Carter to the doctor yesterday because of a high fever (104.3) that wouldn't stop and back pain. Carter was also suffering from a frequent spasmodic cough resulting in vomiting. The doctor put him on steroids for his cough and he said we "might" have the flu. I am inclined to agree.

I haven't felt this bad in a long time, and Camden's cough is getting worse. After being stricken with a very untimely episode of insomnia last night, I am officially down for the count. I hope the boys can take care of themselves today! Oh, and the laundry....and the meals....and the baths....

Our First Trip to the ER!!!

Dan tucked Carter into bed around 9:00 last night and he and I settled into bed ourselves. Around 9:45, we heard a strange noise coming from his room and Dan got up to investigate. Over the monitor, I heard Dan say, "He can't breathe!". I assumed Dan was having a "Drama Queen" moment, and I tentatively wandered down the hall.

Carter was wheezing very badly and was unable to get any air in. He was coughing and throwing up. It was super scary! We gave him some of an inhaler that he had been given previously for another cold he had and called a neighbor (God bless you Mrs. M!!!) to come over and stay with Camden. All I could think about was whooping cough!

Our neighbor arrived and made us aware that she had just taken a pain killer for her ankle that she had surgery on. So, needless to say, she was very tired. Being the nervous Nelly that I am, I was afraid that she would be too tired to hear Camden if he needed her. But, Dan and I scrambled out the door to take Carter to the ER.

Once there, I called home to make sure that our neighbor was doing okay and she told me that Camden sounded really sick, and that I should probably come home and take him to the ER as well. So, I left Dan and Carter at the hospital and sped home.

Luckily, Camden only had a cough and was breathing just fine. I put Camden in the van and picked the boys up at 1:00am from the hospital. I sat in the bathroom with Carter, for a while, so he could get some steam from the hot shower running and we all settled into bed once again. Around 3:00am, Dan heard a noise from Carter's room and went in to check on him. He was draped over the end of his bed having a hard time breathing again. We gave him the inhaler again, and he spent the rest of the night with us.

The verdict? Croup. We thought maybe it was an allergy, but it looks more like he has croup. So after a scary, and very sleepless night, we are all in good spirits today even though we are all very sick. Thank GOD for Harris Teeter's Express Lane. If it weren't for them, we would all starve! I hope we don't ever have to go back to the ER.

Weeeeeeeeee

We all went to the mall today, and while we were there we enjoyed the carousel. Camden was so excited, the whole time we were waiting he said, "Weeeeeee, weeeeeee, weeeeeeee". It was very cute. Carter was chomping on the bit the whole time we waited. He couldn't get on fast enough!
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Christmas Has Come

Tonight we finally decorated our tree. We have been trying to decorate for sometime now, but we have been too busy. Christmas music played in the background, and we took our time. No one even picked a fight!

The weird thing is, as excited as Carter was to hang the candy canes, he now won't go anywhere near the tree. We just can't figure out why he is afraid of it. The only thing I can think of is that he might think Santa is coming now and he is a little fearful of the Big Man. He doesn't quite get it.

On another totally different note, we are night weaning Camden starting tonight. We need all the prayers we can get! He was waking up every hour to two hours, and this Mommy is way too tired to keep it up. It is now almost 11:00pm and he has been crying for an hour. Dan has been going in to comfort him, but he only settles down for a few minutes. He is determined, that's for sure. I must not give in, I must not give in, I must not give in, I must not give in...

Let There Be Art

So I have decided to foster the artistic side of myself. This has proven to be quite difficult, however, with the boys bouncing around me constantly. After years of "writer's block", I would like to finally create! I made this from a picture of Camden at his birthday party. I even have a shop online!

Beautiful

It's official. My Carter told me this morning at 10:56 am that I am beautiful. He has been telling me for quite a while now that he loves me, but today was a first. Carter came to give me a long hug and said, "Mommy, you're beautiful. You're my best friend". *Sniff, sniff*

Camden's FIRST Birthday Party

The cake

Cousin Seth

Getting ready for some cake!

He didn't like his hands all messy.

Auntie Fefes (Felicia) helping with the hat.

Savannah, Carter and Gabriel were there to help.

JaJa

Aunt Laura, Aunt Heather and Grammie

Aunt Heather

"Uncle" Jeff and "Aunt" Chrissy

This is why Auntie Fefes bought a new lawn mower for Camden.
Now, the boys each have one, and they follow each other around the house and copy each other.

Camden surveying some of the damage.

Camden is our little comedian. He loves to laugh and make us laugh! He is starting to talk and says, "gat" and "sss-gat", which is his why of saying "what's that?". He points to everything and asks what it is and so far has mastered the location of lights, the fans and his balloons. I also swear he is starting to say "Ca" for Carter. When I ask him where Carter is I hear a little "Ca". Camden sure does love music! Whenever he hears even a hint of a musical beat, he starts dancing. He sways his shoulders back and forth and bends at the knees moving up and down. It is so darn cute I can't stand it. Carter is a great big brother, and the two of them run around the house and giggle all day long (In between some power struggles here and there...to be expected). We are so lucky! :) Camden is my little "barnacle" and loves to cuddle. He is definitely a full blown Mommy's boy.

Thanksgiving

We spent our Thanksgiving with Grammie and JaJa (Dan's parents) at the Angus Barn again this year. It was nice, but I am planning on a more traditional (slave in the kitchen all day for 10 minutes worth of eating) Thanksgiving next year. I feel that the boys are old enough now that we should start more of a family tradition with memories.

Dan surprised me the other evening with this beautiful boquet of flowers.